While at CMU I had the opportunity to get involved in both research as well as commercial user interface work. The demands were often quite different, but the diversity of experience was beneficial. I found that the educational research group was concerned with performance and an exciting user experience, while the commercial company was concerned with having a professional look and feel and very practical user experience.

EventScope is an interactive 3D planetary exploration tool for high school science education.  With EventScope, a child can fly around distant planets in real-time and study and annotate various features they find.  As the Java3D performance engineer, I helped improve the performance of the interface and the child’s experience.  I also deployed the software to school classrooms and observed children while using the tool, in an effort to discover new improvement possibilities.

Before – The original user interface for Planner, Blue Pumpkin’s leading call center analysis tool. This screenshot shows a view that the user frequently interacts with.  The look was generally unattractive and not modern looking. This is what I was given to start with.

After – The new interface for Planner, which I implemented.  It featured a modern look and feel and is more appealing to look at.  Specific improvements included a new color scheme, new icons, new user interface components, reorganization of fields, etc. The design for these changes was done by a third party.

Before – A user interface for Planner, Blue Pumpkin’s leading call center analysis tool.  This screenshot shows an options panel than the user often needs to tailor the tool for their specific needs.  The look was generally unattractive and not modern looking.  As well, there was a general lack of information organization.

After – The new interface for Planner, which I developed.  It featured a modern look and feel and is more appealing to look at.  It presented critical information to the user in a much more organized fashion, making it easier to understand and manipulate.  Specific improvements included a new color scheme, new icons, new user interface components, reorganization of fields, etc.